Posted By Lynn Bartels On January 23, 2011 @ 1:00 pm In Colorado Legislature,Economy and Business | No Comments

A former union leader whose appointment to Gov. John Hickenlooper[1]’s cabinet brought howls from some Republicans is scheduled for a confirmation hearing Monday.

Ellen Golombek[2], the new head of the Department of Labor and Employment, will appear before a Senate committee for questioning. So will Kathy Nesbitt, director of the Department of Personnel and Administration.

Golombek isn’t the first labor department appointee to get grief from the minority party. The same thing happened in 1999 when the Senate confirmed former Rep. Vickie Armstrong[3] as Gov. Bill Owens[4]’ labor chief.

Golombek, of Denver, worked for 14 years with the Service Employees International Union and Colorado AFL-CIO, including serving as the first female president of the Colorado AFL-CIO in 2000.

“(Hickenlooper’s) selection of a noted progressive activist and union boss in Ms. Golombek certainly will raise plenty of eyebrows in Colorado’s business community — and for good reason,” Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, said when she was tapped[5].

But Hickenlooper is a Democrat and Democrats hold a 20-15 majority in the Senate, so her confirmation is not in doubt.

Golombek and Nesbitt are the first two Hickenlooper appointees to face Senate confirmation. Each appointee appears before a Senate committee, which forwards the nomination with a favorable or unfavorable recommendation to the Senate. All 35 Senate members later vote on the nomination.

The hearings begin at 1:30 p.m. before the Senate Business, Labor and Technology Committee.

“The Colorado Senate has a Constitutional obligation to confirm executive appointments,” Kopp said. “This process must be constructive and transparent so the General Assembly and the people of Colorado understand the direction the governor’s administration wishes to take us.”

In Armstrong’s case, four Democrats, including now U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, joined with Republicans in approving her nomination. Two Republicans joined with Democrats in voting against Armstrong, saying she had been so closely aligned with business on workers compensation legislation they doubted she would be fair to labor.